I am the former Co-CEO of KP Media, a leading Publisher in Ukraine. In addition to being the leading news organization in Ukraine (Korrespondent, Kyiv Post), we also owned the largest online business, Bigmir.net. I'm now back in the US, consulting and speaking in the areas of Digital Marketing and Digital innovation. You can find my website at www.DigitalTonto.com and follow me on Twitter @DigitalTonto.

What Makes Digital Marketing Fundamentally Different?

The marketing world, in large part, can be split into two camps. The traditionalists believe that nothing has really changed except the tools. Digital advocates, on the other hand, are sure that the realm of communication has changed so completely that the old rules have lost relevance. Who’s right?

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 19: NIKE President & CEO Mark Parker speaks on stage during the unveiling of the NIKE+ FuelBand at Highline Stages on January 19, 2012 in New York City. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Having spent ample time in both camps, I’m somewhere in the middle. I’m equally frustrated with those who try to fit new media into old models and those who are sure every shiny object represents a new paradigm.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that something fundamental has changed and, in my view at least, it starts with one of the most primary assumptions in the marketing world.

The Purchase Funnel

The purchase funnel should be familiar to anyone involved in sales and marketing. It has been a staple for decades and many different iterations have arisen, but here’s the most basic version from Wikipedia:

The funnel is a graphical representation of the AIDA model that’s been in use for at least a century and appeals to our basic common sense. You get a prospect’s attention, inspire their interest, overcome their objections and get them to act. The implicit assumption is that the more people you put into the front of the funnel, the more sales you’ll get out the end.

This led to marketers to focus on building brand awareness, mainly through TV campaigns. While some energy went into tactics farther down the line, the thinking was that awareness was a tide that lifted all boats. I think that everybody knew that the notion wasn’t 100% accurate, but it was true enough that it worked and played a crucial role in building our most beloved brands.

To respond to the new challenges many marketers have developed path-to-purchase models. Like purchase funnels, there are multiple versions, but here’s the one that I favor:

At first glance, the contrast may seem mostly cosmetic. After all, you still have the same major elements, simply rearranged. However, what used to be a linear process has been replaced by a continuum and that makes all the difference in the world.

In short, marketers need to shift from grabbing attention to holding attention and that will require a change in skills, mindset and organizational integration.

From Big Ideas to Pervasive Brand Experiences

In contrast to the old model, where marketers strove to come up with a “big idea” which they could promote with massive ad spending on TV, now marketers need to create pervasive brand experiences that keep consumers engaged even after they have made the sale.

Case in point is the Nike’+program, which has developed an entire ecosystem that helps consumers track their own training programs through a fuelband that monitors their activity, devices implanted in basketball shoes that can record how high they jump and interfaces with both the Apple iPod and Microsoft Kinect platforms. They can even link their profiles with friends and compete with them.

To succeed in this new environment, marketers need to move away from one-way communication and towards a true value exchange, where consumers interact with the brand continuously because they are getting more than just a slogan, but an experience that transcends the product itself.

However, the shift requires tight integration of a much wider set of skills than in the old “big idea” era. Beyond making ads, todays marketing effort requires technologists, usability experts community managers, retail specialists and sometimes even a mathematician or two.

My question is this: If marketing practice has changed so fundamentally, why do our marketing organizations look so much the same?

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Great pieces! However, I would argue that many marketers are are catching up to the innovative product development that we have seen from companies from startups to Nike+. Of course, it is usually reactionary as oppose to fueling a movement from the start…but unless product development and marketing teams work hand in hand marketing will always be reactionary. In my opinion, marketing and customer development strategies need to be a more integrate consideration during the R&D process. Even with so many ways for consumers to learn about great new products, it is still that case that if you build it no one will know unless you market it.

Be different, and be something that consumers actually want – and verify the later first!

Digital Marketing grows very fast nowadays since we are in the Digital era. Internet, social media, etc….With this kind of technology we follow trends in marketing services or products online. That’s why some businesses ranging from small to large firms uses this kind of strategy as their promotional way of introducing what they offer on the internet….

I love seeing some of those old models from when we studied marketing being reapplied and adapted to the digital marketing age! It can sometimes highlight some really interesting similarities and shows how fundamental principles of communication stay the same whatever the medium.

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The main thing I’m seeing is even if “traditional” marketeers start to embrace digital as part of the promotion, digital is being seen as just another delivery channel for the message.

Marketing departments in companies, especially in B2B, large enough to have both sets of marketeers are struggling because they are applying traditional practices to new technologies, so they still feel in control of the message.

You are right about the value exchange. Its the fundamentals of interaction and relationships (brand trust) digital has driven that is the game changer. You can no longer just broadcast – its about a 2 way dialogue – listening to and responding.

Until marketeers understand this, the continuum of “message in a bottle” style marketing – i.e. lobbing it out and hoping some of it sticks will continue.